Pick Up The Pieces
by Mako Blue
Summary: AU. Angeal and Zack get sent to Nibelheim to check out on the Nibelheim reactor. Zack / Tifa. 260709- edited Chpt's 5 fight scene for Angeal XD
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

* * *

"Boy, is this place ever in the boonies," Zack mused, looking out from the back of the transport. "Reminds me of Gongaga, but colder."

Angeal looked up from the reports to glance at his protégé, Zack Fair, SOLDIER 2nd Class, as he hung half-in, half-out of the truck, trying to take in all the scenery at once.

"Zack, be careful."

The warning came automatically to Angeal's lips, even though he had given it a hundred times before. Zack looked back at his mentor with a cheerful grin. "Don't worry, Angeal! Heroes never fall!"

Angeal humph-ed. Zack came over and hunkered down next to Angeal. "Say, tell me about this mission. Why are we going to Nibelheim again?"

"According to these reports from Hojo's lab, there have been reports of a strong energy signature and new species of monsters in the area." Angeal perused the reports. "The monsters are harassing the villagers. The energy signature might be Mako contamination or the formation of some new Materia. Our orders are to investigate the source of the energy signature and eliminate the monsters."

Zack huffed and stood. "In other words, easy stuff. Just when I thought we were going to do something interesting!"

"Zack, focus."

"Yes, Dad."

* * *

"We're so glad that you've come," Trent Lockhart had stated, as he shook hands with Angeal in his living room. Zack looked around, feeling out of place in the daintily appointed living room. Although it was noon, the town square was deserted and the one hotel locked and barred. All the houses had their curtains drawn though the fabric shifted as they walked through the town square as though moved by the breath of furtive ghosts.

"What's the situation?" Angeal had asked after pleasantries had been exchanged, even though he already knew most of it.

"The animals that've been appearing near the reactor are unlike anything that anyone's in the village ever seen. Move faster than our mountain cats. Fangs and claws like knives and skin like armour. We've managed to take one of the creatures down but we lost three men to such creatures. Guns and bullets only slow the creatures down. We, er, only got it cos the last man, Miguel, managed to get his knife into its throat while it was chewing off his arm. We've got it out back if you want to see it..."

Angeal had wanted to see it. Now, they stood in the backyard looking at the creature that Mr Lockhart had uncovered from under a heavy black plastic sheet. Zack whistled under his breath when he saw it. It had to be taller than Angeal! Dried green ichor crusted the slashes that marked its sinewy-muscled, scaly, armour-like hide and the hideous gash at its throat that went through it, from back to front. Its form was bipedal, humanoid, with scalpel-like claws; its skin mottled red and green. Its face was nothing human though, more reptilian, lizard-like, with one gouged out eye and the other slit yellow and a mouth full of shark-like teeth, frozen in a bloody snarl in a rictus of death.

Mr Lockhart broke the silence, worry making his voice crack. "They've been sighted around the reactor and they're moving down the mountain. It's getting such that we're afraid they'll come down to the village in the middle of the night and ..." he trailed off.

"I understand," Angeal said, with quiet confidence. "We'll move out right now." Mr Lockhart couldn't disguise his relief.

"According to my reports, it's a four day hike to reach the reactor," Angeal continued, "we'll need a guide."

Mr Lockhart turned pale and cleared his throat.

Odd, thought Zack.

"I apologize, but we don't have any guides now. I'll draw you a map..." Mr Lockhart was saying when a petite girl walked into the yard.

"I could lead them, Papa!"

"Tifa! Get back to your room!" Mr Lockhart's voice was hoarse with worry.

"I was the one who killed the monster, not Miguel! Why won't you believe me?" she cried.

"Stop talking nonsense, Tifa! There's no way you could've killed that thing! Now stop wasting our time and get back to your room!"

Zack was inclined to believe Mr Lockhart's words. The girl, Tifa, though athletic, was too slim, too slight and (in Zack's self-admittedly chauvinistic point of view), too pretty to have taken the monster down, though, she was no fragile flower like Aerith. Dressed in a white tank top, brown hiking shorts, hiking boots and with a cow-boy hat perched on her head, with perfectly tanned skin, she looked the part of guide, not fighter. Straight black hair fell to just below her shoulders and wine-coloured eyes gazed at her father in part defiance, part appeal as she matched wills with him. Zack assessed her stance; she was trying hard to show respect for her father, yet wanting his recognition of her ability.

Her eyes suddenly widened and she ducked and dodged three simultaneously thrown rocks, all of which embedded themselves a foot deep into the ground. The fourth and fifth, she blocked with resounding smacks with gloved hands, else they would have plowed straight into Mr Lockhart. Letting the rocks drop from her hands to come up into a fighting stance, crimson eyes snapping sparks, Tifa yelled at Angeal, "Are you trying to kill my father?"

"Just seeing if you can take care of yourself," Angeal quietly said, dusting off his hands. He turned to Mr Lockhart. "We need a guide, you need the monsters gone and your daughter can take care of herself. We will look out for her as well, of course. With your permission, we will set out within the hour."

He turned from the deflated Mr Lockhart to Tifa, who was still fuming. "Your reflexes are good. Did you receive any training?"

"I was trained by Zangan," she stated.

"Zangan? Zangan-ryu?" Angeal paused as Tifa nodded, his eyebrows rising. "I guess that makes me and him," he indicated Zack, who was watching with his hands behind his head, "your seniors."

She looked from Angeal to Zack, who grinned and waved. "Please take care of me."

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

* * *

They picked their way through narrow, tree-lined, rocky paths on their way to Mount Nibel which loomed forbiddingly in the distance. Angeal was point, leading the way and listening to Tifa's directions while Zack brought up the rear. Tifa kept up with them quite easily, to Zack's surprise; it was not every day that you came across a 15 year old girl who could match two SOLDIERs in agility and endurance, even if it was on her home turf.

Tifa talked easily, moved gracefully. He decided that he liked her soft voice as she pointed out small signs left behind by the forest animals and taught them how to avoid making unnecessary clamour, skirting past the native animals at their rest so as not to disturb or alarm them.

He was thinking about how to start a conversation with her when she turned to him and asked, "Is it tough, being a SOLDIER?"

He thought for a while. "Well, it's pretty much physical training day in day out, though sometimes we get to go out on missions like this and that's pretty interesting. See different places, save people, you know?" Zack forbore to mention the experiments and injections which were part and parcel of any regime that SOLDIERs had to go through.

"Your eyes have this really pretty glow," she waved a hand towards Angeal as well. "They're like, the colour of the sky."

"Yeah, well. It's the special Mako they inject into us SOLDIERs, those that can take it. Makes us faster, stronger and with the prettiest eyes on the Planet!" He winked playfully at her and she rolled her eyes at him.

"You learned Zangan-ryu in SOLDIER?" This was asked as he gave her a boost up a three metre high ledge that was not obviously part of the trail. Angeal and Zack, of course, hopped up onto it easily.

"Well, I learnt it from Angeal. Everyone who takes up martial arts in SOLDIER does, I suppose. Angeal's the one who learned it direct from Zangan-shihan."

"Oh," she turned her attention to Angeal's broad back for a moment. "Then, what level are you at?"

"Me? I'm at Level 3 for Rush Assault. The one where you do the sweeping roundhouse kick. I get 16 hits in all if I repeat Level 1 through 3 though. You?"

"Zangan-shihan taught me all the basics but I've only mastered Level 1, the Beat Rush." Tifa looked down, her hair falling forward to cover her eyes.

"Well, you just need more practise. How did you come to learn martial arts? I didn't think girls were interested in that sort of thing?" Zack asked as Tifa indicated that Angeal should take the right hand fork in the trail.

Tifa was quiet for so long that Zack thought she wasn't going to answer him. "I learned Zangan-ryu to be able to stand on my own again."

"What do you mean?" Zack asked.

"You see that bridge over there?" Tifa indicated a rope bridge spanning a wide chasm ahead of them. "When I was 12, I lost my mother to cancer and,... well, I kinda lost it then. I heard that spirits passed over the mountains so I came up here looking for her, you know? I fell while crossing that bridge. My best friend tried to save me but he went over as well. He was Zangan's star pupil."

"Was," Zack noticed, past tense. They caught up with Angeal at the bridge and she knelt down and placed a small bunch of wildflowers, cornflower blue and star heart yellow, at its foot.

"I survived with a concussion, he didn't. He took my fall."

Zack looked down into the chasm. It had to be over four thousand feet to the valley floor. _It's still a bloody miracle she survived that drop!_

"I went even crazier after that, couldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, until Zangan-shihan came and slapped some sense into me. Made me train till I had no strength left for tears, till I woke up and treasured the chance to live that my friend had bought for me with his own."

There was a quiet moment where the three of them looked out into the chasm, with only the wind blowing its mournful song through the mountains.

Then, Zack asked, "What was his name?"

Tifa looked at him, carmine eyes slightly watery, and smiled.

"Cloud Strife. His name was Cloud Strife."

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

* * *

They crossed the bridge uneventfully and though Zack noted Tifa's white-knuckled grip on the rope as they were crossing, he didn't mention anything about it; conquering her personal demons seemed to be something that Tifa took seriously. He stayed close to her though.

Once safely at the other side, Tifa directed them along a narrow path that curved round part of the mountain, up a steep slope which gradually broadened into a long valley. "This place was carved out by a huge glacier long ago," she explained. She turned to Angeal and asked, "Would you like to set up camp soon? I know a place where there's shelter and water not too far from here."

Tifa led the way this time, into the valley where green grass, wildflowers and small trees grew, very different from the scouring grass and stunted trees which they had passed through before. They stopped for a drink of cold water at the stream which ran along the valley floor and continued on. Tifa's campsite turned out to be along the wall of the valley, where the glacier had deposited a few boulders the size of houses against each other under an overhang in the valley wall, making for a kind of cave about the size of the Training Room back at Headquarters. Gravel-floored, it was adequately sheltered from the wind, especially when the entrance was screened with a woven brush curtain. When Angeal had deemed it suitable, Tifa slipped inside and dismantled a cairn of rocks built at the back, unearthing a frying pan, three mugs, two plates and a bundle of forks and spoons, all weathered and battered metal, but serviceable despite all that. She then trotted out of the shelter with the pan towards the stream, mentioning something about "seeing to dinner".

Zack gave a glance towards Angeal, who nodded his permission, and went after her. He followed her upstream, where the stream broadened into a shallow pool.

"This stream is fed by a really big lake further up," Tifa said softly, kicking off her boots and socks. "The lake gets fed by underground springs." She winced as she stepped into the cold water, which went up to her knees. (And they were very nice knees, Zack thought.) She let her arms dangle in the water and slowly but surely felt her way through the water for a minute. Zack watched her face brighten suddenly as her searching hands found something, "Hah. Gotcha." She straightened up with a heave and flung a decently-sized speckled trout onto the grass. She grinned up at Zack, kitten-cute and pleased with herself. "We're lucky. It's not just salad for us tonight!"

Zack found himself answering her grin with one of his own. "Hey, teach me how it's done," he cajoled, kicking off his boots and rolling up his pants legs.

* * *

After half an hour of back breaking work for dinner, resulting in four near soakings, six fish, one disgruntled eel (the only eel to be found anywhere on Mount Nibel, Zack was sure) and near hypothermia, they made their way back to camp with the fish strung through their gills on a stick and a pan full of edible greens as sunset colours of rose, gold and lavender streaked across the sky.

"You can stop giggling already, you know," he told her grumpily. They'd tickled three fish out of the water each and he had been determined to out-do her when he had encountered the eel, all four feet of it.

"I know, I've stopped," she cheerfully told him, her eyes dancing. "But you really should've seen your face, Zack!"

Zack growled, but it was mostly an act. Smiling suit Tifa a lot more than tears, he thought. It turned her eyes warm, the colour of sunlight shining through maple syrup. And the way she said his name...

Dinner, consisting of fresh fish skewered and baked in front of a small fire with fresh greens and hot tea, went down very well. The fire that Angeal had summoned (a controlled use of materia) produced little smoke and what little there was dispersed easily when it rose beyond the sheltering boulders. They were, Tifa informed them, two days hike away from the place the creatures last attacked so they decided to set a person on watch through the night. Tifa drew first watch (she had simply come forward when watch was being decided as though being included was the most natural thing in the world), Zack second and Angeal third. What had remained unspoken between Angeal and Zack was that one of them would stay awake with her as well. That, too, was natural for them.

Zack and Tifa had gone out to the stream to wash the dishes and bury the waste away from the campsite and when they got back, they found Angeal ensconced in a corner, cleaning his sword.

Zack set about checking his equipment as well. When he was done, he looked up to find Tifa in the midst of going through her kata. He recognised when she moved from the first set of basic movements from Zangan-ryu to the second and admired the flow of her movements, from one stance to the next, each block, punch or kick executed fluidly and sharply, holding each position without faltering. She made it look easy but her performance bespoke of great physical control and balance.

"That was well done," Angeal complimented her when she had finished. She smiled happily at him. Tying her hair into a ponytail, she then set about shadow sparring, executing a series of kicks and punches at an imaginary opponent.

"Tifa, would you like a sparring partner?" Angeal asked, standing and returning his sword to its customary place at his back.

"Hm?" Tifa stopped, surprised. "With you, sir?"

"Not me. Him," Angeal indicated Zack.

Zack raised an eyebrow at Angeal. _Are you serious?!_

Angeal answered with a raised eyebrow of his own. _Just do it, puppy._

Grumbling a little at the unexpected request from his mentor, Zack did some stretches, mentally assessing the terrain and cataloguing the strengths and weaknesses of his unexpected opponent, catching Tifa's eyes on him and knowing she was doing at least some of the same. _I've got reach, strength and speed on me. She's fast enough, though. She'll go for the element of surprise? Can't use materia. Does Angeal expect this to be just a training session? Argh, whatever goes, man, as long as I fight with honour and don't hurt her, I suppose._

He walked towards Tifa and stopped about a metre away from her. They both bowed to each other from the waist, murmuring, "Please take care of me."

And a scuffle of gravel was all the warning that Zack had before he dodged backwards from the kick that Tifa had aimed towards his gut. She flew after him, throwing a flurry of hooks, jabs and punches which he dodged as they came, his Mako-enhanced reflexes enabling him to stay ahead of her movements. _Say, for a civilian, she isn't half bad! _

Zack could feel himself backing up to the wall of the shelter so he vaulted up and over her head just as she landed a straight left punch into the wall where he was a moment before, leaving a small impact crater and a spider-web of cracks behind. _Scratch that, she's good! But it's my turn now!_

Swiftly, he covered the distance between them as she was shaking her hand and wincing and unleashed a volley of punches of his own, making an effort to keep them slowed. Tifa ducked and parried the attacks quite well; he admired how she shifted her body just enough to avoid his attacks which were fast enough even at his semi-speed. And to his surprise, she suddenly wasn't there anymore. _She side-stepped! _A light tap at his left hip warned him and he brought up his left arm just in time to block a jumping somersault kick aimed to his head. _Using me as a step in! _He flashed a grin at her daring. _She's got guts! _

She had landed some distance away, guard up but also grinning at the success of her manoeuvre, never mind that it hadn't been able to actually connect.

"Alright, that's enough," Angeal called out. Zack blinked. _So soon?_ But he and Tifa bowed to each other obediently, each murmuring, "Thank you for taking care of me," thus formally ending the sparring practice.

Zack went out to check that all was quiet while Tifa stayed inside to listen to Angeal's quiet comments on her performance. He came in just as Angeal concluded his remarks and she thanked him for his time. As she slipped out to carry out the first watch, Zack closed his eyes, waited exactly one minute, then went out into the night after her. There was no moon that night, but a river of glittering stars spilled like diamonds across the black night sky and gave off enough light for his night vision to see by. And thus he saw her a ways off, hunkered down by the river ... washing her hands? No, more like soaking one of them. Her left hand. _Damn._

He hunkered down beside her. "Hey, let me have a look at that."

He thought she would refuse, but with a sigh, she removed her hand from the cold water and let him assess the damage. The skin was split, her knuckles swollen and bruised, though whatever bleeding there was appeared to have stopped.

Zack whistled.

"Geez, you should've said something," he chided. "May I?" He held out his hand to her and after a moment's hesitation, she placed her hand in his. S_uch a small hand. _"At least nothing seems to be broken," he added in a conversational tone as he activated the Restore materia in his Bolt Armlet. Tifa gasped as soft green light suffused her hand and she held up her hand to find the skin knit back smooth and the swelling gone.

"Thanks," she said, standing up.

"No problem," he replied, getting up as well and they both walked slowly back to camp.

"Hey," he asked, breaking the silence. "The last stunt you pulled back there; that was Level Two, wasn't it?"

"The Somersault? Yes, it was," her smile flashed in the starlight. "It needs more work though."

"Yeah, well. I'd spar with you anytime." And he meant it, too.

"That'd be nice. I've never had a sparring partner as good as you before." _That means nothing in a small town like this, you ninny! _He scolded his inflating ego.

They reached the campsite and she made shooing in gestures at him. "You'd better go in, get some rest. I'll wake you when it's your turn."

Zack made a show of stretching his arms above his head and grinned down at her. "Nah, I'll stay out here with you for a bit. After such an exciting match, I'm too pumped to sleep!"

She gave a disbelieving huff. "Liar. You were going easy on me, don't deny it."

"Then I won't! But we can both keep watch on a beautiful night together," he declared. He looked around for a distraction. "Let's go up there. We'll be able to see anything that's coming." He gestured up to the overhang of the campsite and held out his hand to her.

For a moment, he thought she'd kick him for being so stubborn and braced himself as she stepped towards him.

Then, he felt her small hand slip into his and saw her dark eyes looking solemnly up at him.

Grinning, he swept her off her feet, (ignoring her small, indignant "eep!" of surprise) and jumped up to the overhang.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

* * *

Zack set Tifa down, holding her until she got her footing on the unfamiliar ground.

The wind was blowing and Tifa shivered, shifting unconsciously closer to Zack, where he provided a small measure of shelter from the cold. Zack felt in his pocket for the thin heat reflective blanket that was standard Shinra-issue to her SOLDIER officers, unfolded it and wrapped it around her shoulders. Silvered on one side and camouflage green on the other, it enveloped her small form, its ends falling to her ankles. He smiled at her whispered thanks, assuring her that he didn't need the blanket. He was pretty immune to current weather conditions thanks to his training; she couldn't know how just _remembering_ previous missions carried out in snow storms and blizzards made this clear mountain night seem positively balmy in comparison.

They sat with their backs to the rocky valley wall. "Wow!" Tifa breathed, looking out. "Look at that!" The valley looked different by starlight. Colours that were so bright in the day were non-existent at night, making it seem as though the valley had been gone over by an artist whose palette had been limited to white, black and ten different shades of grey, making for an odd, stark, cold kind of beauty. Zack regarded her with amusement as she smiled at him, obviously delighted with the view somehow.

"Never figured you for a night person," he commented softly. Tanned, straightforward, upbeat and independent, he thought she suited the bright colours of the day and wildflowers more. Unbidden, the memory of another girl among the flowers, but in the shadows of a church this time, crossed his mind. _A pale, green-eyed girl whom he'd saved from a group of thugs while off-duty in the slums of Midgar; the girl who'd stammered out her thanks before fleeing; the girl who'd been more afraid of his SOLDIER uniform and Mako eyes than the goons he had discouraged. _

Something must have shown in his face because he found Tifa leaning closer towards him, a concerned look on her face.

"It's nothing," he assured her. _Really._

She leaned back with a doubtful look on her face and looked back out into the valley. After a while, he heard her say, "I used to go outside when I couldn't sleep back home..., climb the water tower..., watch the stars…"

He was thankful for her effort to distract him from the moment. "Make any wishes?" he asked.

She made a soft sound between a huff and a wry chuckle. "Too many to count."

"They come true for you?"

"Not really. Maybe, a few. What about you?" she asked, seeming a little shy at having admitted to something quite private to her. "Have you ever wished on a star before?"

"Nope!" he said cheerfully, grinning at her as he leaned back against the wall.

"Never?" Surprise coloured her tone. "Haven't you ever wished for anything before?"

"No. Maybe I don't have any wishes," he said slowly, "but I have dreams. And _I_," he looked up at the stars as he laid quiet emphasis on the pronoun and every word after that, "am going to make my dreams come true some day."

He looked down, a bit abashed at having tried to impress the stars _(of all things!) _with his determination, to find Tifa looking at him, wide-eyed. _Whoops. Guess I got a little intense there._ He grinned at her to lighten the moment and she blinked, looking startled. She looked so unguarded and cute that he couldn't help reaching over to tousle her fine, dark hair.

"…Ack! Zack! Stop it…," she gave small indignant splutters that, if anything, served only to widen his grin and make him disorder her hair more energetically until she mock snapped at his fingers with an audible clack of teeth. "Geez," she shook her head vigorously, her hair sort of shimmering back into place, and pouted at him.

"I bet you're a horrible older brother…"

* * *

It was nearing the end of Zack's watch. Tifa had insisted on staying out on his watch with him and they had bantered on and off through the night. She was curled up now, drooping a little in the borrowed blanket, head on her knees. He was debating with himself whether he should wake Angeal for his watch or keep watch through the night (_Shouldn't Tifa get to sleep indoors?) _when he heard a soft splash of water that was out of sync with the rest of the sounds in the night. From his higher vantage point, he could see faint silver ripples in black water as something (_some things?) _drank from the pool. _Yes, definitely more than one. Big ones too._ He reached quietly for his sword and noticed that Tifa had lifted her head off her knees and was staring intently in the direction of the sound.

"You see anything?" he murmured.

"No," she shook her head. "But I hear something by the pool and the crickets that way have all gone quiet."

And so they had. Night insects shrilled downstream, but everything upstream had fallen silent, the lack of sound pressing on them like a vacuum. The shadows by the pool raised their heads and three pairs of lamp yellow eyes looked this way and that. The wind was blowing down the valley but could the animals smell them anyway?

Zack could hear them now, snarling at (_or communicating with?_) each other; barks, growls and short guttural exchanges. Then, the eyes and their owners began to move down the valley.

He felt Tifa gather herself beside him, saw her use the dark blanket to hide her white top. _Good girl,_ he thought. He snapped open his PHS and dialled for Angeal, felt the line get connected on the first silent ring.

"Angeal, we've got company," he reported softly.

"Copy," Angeal's firm voice replied. Zack grinned as he hung up. He'd never admit it to Angeal either awake or sober, but having Angeal at his back- solid, dependable, capable Angeal- was always damned reassuring.

Down below, the three pairs of eyes stopped, looked up, fixed upon Tifa and Zack on the overhang and as one, the creatures roared.

* * *

A/N: Hope that you've enjoyed it.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

* * *

Zack and Tifa both stood up, the need to stay still and quiet over. The dark shadows narrowed their glowing eyes and crooned ominously at this, crouching and springing up to the overhang in one fluid movement. Three fireballs blossomed from the dark below and hit the three monsters in the chest, arresting them in mid-leap. The blinding impact sent showers of sparks raining down, setting off small fires in the vegetation around them. In that yellow, flickering light, Zack grinned as he saw Angeal below him, the source of that perfectly-timed-and-cast Tri-Fire. Two monsters had fallen back, still managing to land on their feet while retreating a little, while the third managed to reach and cling onto the lip of the overhang, all squalling in pain.

Zack looked down at a snarling, pain-contorted and very much alive and uglier version of the creature that they had seen in the Lockhart's backyard that morning. He raised his sword and brought it down in a shining arc that should have separated the monster's head from its body but the creature sprang back, landing among its fellows. Their hides bore charred and blackened marks but it didn't seem to impede their movements any. _Were they magic resistant_?

Angeal strode out of the overhang, towards the creatures. They fanned out around him, seeming to think and recognise him as the greatest threat. _Well_, Zack thought wryly, _they'd be right. But I'll show you that I'm not one to be dismissed lightly either! _

Zack leapt off the overhang as the monsters sprang at Angeal, landing with his full weight upon a monster's back. It bellowed dreadfully as it was driven down, straight down into the ground with a ground shaking impact. Zack slashed down at it as it shrugged him off, opening up a deep, four-foot long gash in its back, drawing even angrier roars. He glanced back to see how Angeal was faring and jumped out of the way as another monster landed heavily on the ground. Zack saw with some surprise, Tifa on its back, having tried to repeat his feat but being too light to have the same effect.

_I thought you'd stay up there!_

Tifa punched the creature's head twice, thrice as the creature reached behind for her before leaping off. As the creature swayed from the impact, (_yeah, that's gotta hurt, _Zack thought absently), he saw his opening and went for it, beheading the creature with a powerful swing of his sword. He jumped back to avoid the spray of blood and saw Tifa land some distance off from him. The headless monster fell to the ground, only to reveal the first monster standing behind it, eyes narrow-slit with pain and hate. It raised its arm and hissed at them as something green glowed within it.

_Wha-? Oh Holy, it has materia!_

"Jump!" He yelled at Tifa, even as he ran toward her.

The ground suddenly heaved as though it was the deck of a ship in a storm, forcing Zack to stop and knocking Tifa off her feet. _Quake!_

Before the last tremor was gone, the monster charged forward towards Tifa with its claws outstretched and an ear-shattering shriek, only to be brought up short as it ran itself through on Zack's sword. Blood dripped from the blade where half its length exited from the back of the monster's head and its fetid breath washed over him as it snarled as though its mouth was full of stones and grabbed weakly at the blade as though it would yet rip the sword out of his hand. Then the clawed hands went limp as the light in its eyes died away. Zack removed his sword with a small flourish and it slumped forward, bleeding into the ground.

"Well done, Zack, Tifa." Zack turned to see Angeal walking towards them unscathed, the dark form of a creature laid out and unmoving on the ground behind him.

"Piece of cake! I could've taken them all on myself!" Zack grinned at his mentor and pumped his fist in victory. He turned to Tifa and asked, "Are you all right?"

Tifa got up, apparently unhurt. "I'm fine." She looked at them, obviously impressed. "You took care of them so easily."

"Next time, direct your attacks to the neck. One good punch from you should be enough to break its spine," Angeal advised as he got to one knee to examine the magic-wielding monster.

Zack looked towards Angeal, slightly surprised that she hadn't been told to stay out of the way in future fights. _Then again, she's taken down one of these before. And it's not like she lacks ability, or guts. Actually, what she lacks is some decent armour. _

He considered Tifa for a moment before going up to her, taking his spare armlet from his belt pouch. He clipped it around her upper arm and frowned as it slid down to her wrist, wondering if it would do any good there. Tifa held up her arm, considering the reddish metal accessory and its four materia spheres with surprised eyes.

"Fire Armlet," he explained as she looked up at him. "It's the first armour accessory I earned for completing my first solo mission well and I thought you could wear it for..., er, ... luck," he finished lamely. He ran his hand through his black spikes as he looked away, slightly abashed for being sentimental and wondering how to explain the mechanics of stat-increasing armour.

A light touch on his arm brought his eyes back to her. Tifa smiled shyly as she held up her hand (the armlet slipping down to her elbow), saying, "Thank you, Zack. I'll take care of it."

_Actually, it's supposed to be taking care of you,_ Zack thought wryly.

His attention shifted as Angeal stood up, a green, glowing sphere in his hand, extracted from the monster's arm. "Quake materia. Newly formed," he mused, looking down at it. "The reports never mentioned that they could use materia," he glanced towards Tifa in askance.

"Yes, sir," Tifa answered. "They've never used magic before, before today."

Angeal stood silent, for a moment, considering this new bit of information. "Then we'll have to proceed with more caution."

Zack went over to look at the crystal in Angeal's hand. "How did the monster get Materia?"

Angeal shrugged, "The mountain is rich in Mako energy. It might have formed naturally in the monsters' bodies or it might have just found natural crystals like this. Being smart enough to recognise and use it, now..." Angeal broke off suddenly, snapping his head up.

Zack felt it then; a smothering feeling, a ringing in his ears. The ringing became a deafening roar as a bright flash of light made him flinch and there was nothing except the sound and the overwhelming stink of ozone in the air.

"Angeal_!_" Zack cried. He fought his eyes open, squinting to see Angeal falling stiffly, heavily to one knee, teeth gritted and muscles clenched. The Buster Sword was out, electricity arcing off it to the ground in crackling discharges. _Thundaga,_ he thought weakly, _and Angeal used the Buster Sword as a lightning rod for mine_. _He took on two Thundagas at once?!_ His amazement at Angeal's magical resistance was replaced with fear as he remembered that a member of their party had almost none. _Where's Tifa?_

Zack looked for her and felt his heart almost stop as he saw her lying crumpled on the ground, a Death Claw standing over her. Fanning out its eight razor-edged arms sinuously, the creature hissed at Zack and Angeal. It raised its claws over Tifa, making to strike down. Zack surged forward with a cry of anger. Swinging his sword in a horizontal arc, he cut off the monster's claws in mid-strike, its serrated appendages spinning off to land some distance away. The monster shrieked in pain, a shriek cut short as Zack spun around, following up with a vertical slice downwards, almost splitting the monster in two, his sword embedded in the chitinous armour. He kicked the body away, freeing the blade.

And from the shadows, three more Death Claws appeared, with more pairs of red eyes glowing dimly behind them in the smoky darkness. _Did we stir up a Death Claw nest nearby or what? _Zack thought angrily. The three monsters in the vanguard clicked angrily and raised their claws even as green auras appeared around them, signalling a magic attack.

Zack felt the familiar pressure of magic behind him and didn't flinch as Tri-Fire exploded in the monsters' chests, sending them staggering back, falling over, with burned holes in their carapaces. He turned, eyes meeting Angeal's _(You're alright!) _and Angeal nodded even as he strode forward to deal with the monster menace, leaving Zack to take care of Tifa.

Zack knelt and turned Tifa over carefully, activating his Restore materia at the same time. She had no outward signs of injury that he could see, but her eyes were closed and she wasn't showing any signs of breathing. That terrified him, remembering how alive she had been, smiling at him just moments before. At that moment, he desperately wanted nothing so much as to see her smile at him again.

_Come on, Tifa! Open your eyes! _

And so, when she stirred and gasped and opened her eyes, he hugged her tightly in relief, letting her go only when he heard her whimper in discomfort.

"Are you still hurt anywhere?" he asked belatedly, looking her over. She looked shaken, but otherwise alright. She shook her head as she looked around, confused by the sounds of battle.

"We got attacked by monsters but its fine," he assured her, looking over to where Angeal was; thus missing the look Tifa threw him at his statement. Both looked over to where Angeal was wreaking havoc among the Death Claws; powerful kicks, elbow-strikes and punches were felling Death Claws left, right and centre and at least ten of the creatures' bodies were already lying unmoving on the ground.

"Why doesn't he use his sword?" Tifa asked, watching in awe as Angeal drove an elbow into a monster's head, smashing its face in, then ducked the swipe of another, grabbing its claw as it went over his head, flipping it, then flinging it judo-style at two other monsters rushing in, knocking them all into a hissing tangle of thrashing claws and legs on the ground.

"He wants to avoid wear, tear and rust on it," Zack said, as a volley of Tri-Fire blasted into the pile of monsters as they struggled to regain their feet. "That's what he says anyway," he glanced at Tifa's dubious look and shrugged, used to this quirk of his mentor. He looked over to where at least two score more of the creatures were materialising from the shadows. "I'd better go help Angeal. Can you keep safe here?"

He grinned when she nodded and stood up with surety, relieved to see her determination and agility coming back to her. He stood, SOLDIER broadsword in hand, and leapt into the fray.

* * *

Zack slashed away at the monsters as he cut his way through to Angeal, dodging the weaker attacks of Thunder magic cast at him and Angeal and retaliating with volleys of twin fireballs from his Fira materia. Zack found casting magic to be rather tedious; especially as he was in the process of levelling up his current materia set so his available range of magic attacks were nowhere as powerful as Angeal's. He absently considered switching some of his Materia over and decided against it even as he ran a monster through with his sword. _We've taken care of most of the monsters already. And it's not as if I can cast Flare on the whole mountainside anyway, _and grimaced wryly at the idea.

He ducked the striking claws of a monster and Angeal executed a jumping backthrust kick to its head as it stumbled from overextending itself. Blinded and keening in pain, it staggered backwards and crashed into another Death Claw, knocking both off their feet, one landing on top of the other. Zack leapt on top of them and thrust his sword down, skewering the both of them through, grinning as he thought, _and that's how we do a monster kebab, SOLDIER-style! _

He almost paid for that flippancy just a moment later as he saw the shadow of yet another Death Claw looming over him. He couldn't remove his sword from the bodies in time to defend himself, so abandoning the sword, he brought both fists up to parry a blow, but it never came.

With a cry, Tifa tackled it from the side, using one hand to vault sideways over the creature's claw, planting her two feet upwards into its head with all her might. Both staggered, the monster from the double-barrelled kick and Tifa on landing, but she didn't allow it time to recover, driving it back swiftly with a series of punches. The first punch she dealt the monster covered it with frost, which caused the monster to shriek in pain and surprise, while the second punch caused the frost to disappear. The third punch had a small fireball appear under Tifa's fist on impact, charring the monster and eliciting another painful shriek, while the fourth punch caused the monster's burn to heal.

_Ice, Restore, Fire, Restore_, Zack realised as he pulled his blade free and parried away another monster's attack. _She's activating the materia in the armlet I gave her, casting magic along with her attacks, even though she doesn't know how! _He had to focus on his own opponent for a moment, slicing it almost to two at the waist. When he turned back, both Tifa and the monster had broken apart, the monster cautious and confused about this new prey's method of attack and Tifa unsure of what she had done and visibly frustrated about the seeming ineffectiveness of her attacks.

The Death Claw shook itself and screamed a challenge at Tifa, before charging forward. Tifa tensed, fists up in a guarding stance, ready to counter attack and that was when Zack saw her armlet light up with a distinctive yellow-green glow.

His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered where he had kept his Flare materia.

_Oh, crap._

He turned to Angeal, who had just dispatched the next-to-last Death Claw and barely had time to register the look on Angeal's face (_wide-eyed, stunned surprise_) before he tackled Angeal to the ground, behind some Death Claw carcasses.

Then, a blast of searing heat and blinding light washed over them, lighting up the valley and visible for miles around.

(In Cosmo Canyon, Bugenhagen and Nanaki made a note about the bright flash seen in the early hours from the Mount Nibel area.)

* * *

Feeling (relatively) cool air touch his neck, Zack popped his head up from where the bodies of the Death Claws had acted a shield, sparing them from the worst effects of Flare. Tifa was kneeling beside them, unhurt but wide-eyed and silent at what she had done. Angeal sat up next to him, quietly surveying the damage. The impromptu magic attack had seared the tips of the vegetation, the fallen carcasses and turned the hapless Death Claw standing at point-blank range to vaporised charcoal. The air was filled with the acrid smell of things burnt crisp and the night was totally silent as though there were no surviving insects left to sing.

"You equipped her with Flare." Zack looked at Angeal, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed, as if staving off an impending headache.

"Uh, yeah?" Zack rubbed the back of his head as he looked off to the side.

Angeal looked up and pinned him with a sideways glare. "I suppose we should be glad that you didn't equip her with Ultima."

Zack blushed and looked at the ground.

After a moment of silence, during which both Zack and Tifa fidgeted uncomfortably, Angeal almost (almost!) sighed, then looked at them. He said, not unkindly, to Tifa, "And I suppose we'd better teach you how to use materia properly. But first, let's unequip that Flare materia."

* * *

A/N: Hope that you've enjoyed it. ^_^


End file.
